CHANDIGARH: Despite facing huge anti-incumbency, farmers’ unrest, protest by wrestlers and widespread discontent over the Agniveer scheme, the BJP managed to retain power for the third consecutive term in Haryana. No party has won a third consecutive term in the state ever since its inception in 1966. This mandate for the ‘double-engine sarkar’ could have a bearing on the forthcoming polls in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Delhi.
While the BJP got 48 seats — 8 more than 2019 — and crossed the halfway mark of 46, it was just 0.85% ahead of the Congress in terms of vote share. The Congress had a whopping 11.01% positive swing, yet it could add just six seats to its 2019 tally of 31. The AAP scored a duck but polled 1.79% votes. At hindsight, had the Congress done a deal with AAP, it could have possibly made a winning combination.
Analysts blamed the Congress debacle on its infighting, flawed ticket distribution and party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s undue emphasis on the Jat vote bank, which comprises almost 27% of the state’s electorate. Sirsa MP and the party’s SC face Kumari Selja’s animosity with Hooda appears to have played a key role in the party’s loss. The Muslim vote bank, however, remained firmly behind the Congress.
Talking to this daily, Dr S S Chahar, former director of the Centre for Haryana Studies in Rohtak, said, “The micro management by the ruling BJP was perfect. Also, the RSS played a vital role in sorting out intra-party differences in the BJP. The migrant and floating votes went to the party. And the BJP vote was silent this time. Besides, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was accessible to the public.” The party also managed to get SC votes and the support of women self-help groups in villages.